1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a flexible wire assembly for use in a machine or equipment for medical use for transmitting a torque to a remote controlled actuating machine or equipment.
2. Description of Related Art
For remote control of a working device positioned at a distant location, a flexible power transmitting device is utilized for transmitting a power of a drive source, mainly a torque, to the actuating equipment such as disclosed in the patent documents 1 and 2 listed below.
The power transmitting device disclosed in the patent document 1 referred to above is of a type provided in an inspection probe device and is so designed as to include a flexible shaft for transmitting the torque, which is transmitted from a rotating drive source in the form of an electric motor through a slip ring, to a inspection probe, a plurality of bearings arranged on an outer periphery of the flexible shaft and axially spaced from each other at intervals of a predetermined distance, and a coiled spring functioning as a protective tube enclosing the flexible shaft and the bearings.
The power transmitting device disclosed in the patent document 2 referred to above is of a type provided in an endoscopic treating instrument and is so designed as to include a wire having its tip fitted with a treating member, a flexible tubular member having a hollow in which the wire is inserted, and bearings for supporting the wire in a fashion rotatable relative to the tubular member.
The patent document 3 listed below discloses the use of a flexible shaft connected with an output side, but the details of the flexible shaft are unspecified.